I don't want to come off negative, but I think we get it. Stevens is a genius, okay got that off my chest. Don't get me wrong, he's the right guy for the job. and I love the confidence that Ainge expresses with him. Danny was proud of himself because he gave Stevens a six year deal, and he should be. I hope he shows that kind if commitment with his players, like Rondo.

"He's been great," Ainge said. "He's been easy to work with. He's the
very intelligent, hardworking guy that we thought he was. He gets along
with everybody. He's a great communicator.

"He's got a tough job ahead of him this year. We have a lot of
good players and no superstars, other than Rajon, who won't be ready for
the start of the season. Just managing the minutes with a lot of
players could be a challenge for him. It's not a perfect roster and he's
going to have to mix and match a lot of different things and be very
creative and manage the egos."

The process isn't always going to be pretty. But Stevens has a vision
-- the same one that helped him shape Butler into a two-time NCAA
finalist and helped deliver him to this level. But until he achieves
some of those lofty goals, everything else is just part of the process.

"I've watched Brad a lot and I knew we had the right guy when we
hired him, obviously," Ainge said. "We gave him a six-year contract and,
you can correct me because I haven't done any research on this, but I
don't think there's been a six-year contract given to a coach in the
NBA.

"There really haven't been any surprises, just confirmation. He's a
great guy, great intelligence and I really like how there seems to be
some cohesion with him and the players and he spends a lot of time
communicating.

"In the NBA, you have to sell your product every day. These are men
that you're coaching and just the fact that you've got 'Coach' on your
practice gear doesn't automatically give you that respect. You have to
earn it. I think Brad will do that very thing. I think he'll earn it
from the players, and he has, from a lot of guys that have been around
this summer."

Danny understands that Stevens needs to put in the work, and all this praise means nothing if he doesn't earn the respect of guys like Rondo and Green. Everyone has taken turns within the Celtics calling Stevens a friend. I hope they know when to put friendship aside. I can't wait to see the first preseason game, it should be fun.